Tuesday, March 24, 2009

This is apparently New Zealand's first purpose-built 'green' office building. Meridian Energy is the principal tenant, and the Wellington waterfront building is designed to use 60% less energy and 70% less water than comparable office buildings. I'm not sure why it has to look like this, but then I'm not an architect, so what do I know?

The writer's walkway around the Wellington waterfront features a load of obscure quotes. Some are quite deep and meanigful, others are merely empty aphorisms. But flanked by boats, water, restaurants and rusting mooring posts, at least they look pretty.

This bloke is merrily soldering on the safety instructions to a plaque while his mate stands by in non-protective clothing. The weather is unfeasibly calm for once - I'm sure that all outdoor soldering will be done today.

On a very wet and windy weekday afternoon, the chairs are stacked outside St John's bar - a far cry from the lazy afternoon drinks in the sun as promulgated by the casual crowd.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Last week on Kate's blog, I refererred to myself as a tree-hugger. This isn't strictly true - I don't hug them (often), but I do have a special place in my heart for them. Here are some (non-native) Eucalyptus on Mount Victoria.

And some more, gnarly old pine trees.

I would love to know which mushrooms are edible on my walks through the woods, but as I don't, I leave them all well alone and just content myself with taking photos of them.

Stuart Clarke would be interested in this for his Homes of Football site. I think it's Wellington college's home ground.

One of the things I like about Wellington is its equal commitment to sport and culture. In this photo there are three sporting venues; a velodrome, tennis courts and a softball pitch. All were being used.

The honeysuckle blooms sweet and fragrant - it's such a powerful scent produced from such a fragile-looking flower.And as chocolate seems to go so well with flowers, it was appropriate to find this shop at the end of our walk.

Piles of purple and green savoy cabbages bring baubles of colour to the Waitangi Market.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

I've been up in Auckland on a trip for work. Staying in a tiny apartment in the middle of town I was kept awake all night by the sound of the generator or air conditioning or whatever it was. This is the view from the window. Look at all those lines! It's enough to bring on a headache.

And speaking of lines, here are some more; natural and otherwise. A sub trip up to Dargaville takes me through kumara country where honesty boxes and hedges line the roads.

If this isn't enough to put you off a town, I don't know what is!

Meanwhile, back in Auckland, the weather has gone grim. I worked my thirds and triangles to take this shot of Rangitoto Island. Usually this is shown as a sunny vista with blue skies and white sandy beaches, so I love this brooding aspect.

This is the 'script cupboard' where Auckland Theatre Company keep their secrets. Flash isn't it?

About Me

I love writing, singing, acting and directing. I drink wine and beer and do a bit of sport on the side - mainly triathlon although I love football too. I travel whenever I can and collect new experiences. My favourite colour is green or purple depending on my mood, and yes, I think the two go well together. I try to lead a balanced life but I keep falling off.